Family Photo Session on the North Carolina Coast

The beach has always been a special place for me.

It is a tradition that began decades ago with my grandparents, then was carried on by my parents.

Each summer as a child, we would drive to the Carolina coast to spend a few days with our toes in the sand, soaking in the salty ocean air.

As an adult, I moved myself to Charleston, SC and lived there for several years. It also happens to be where Brandon and I met! But, that's a story for another time.

Although I don't live on the coast anymore, it is still one of my favorite places in the whole world.

My grandparents and parents likely never knew how special the beach would end up being for any of us. Or how many memories they were giving us to hold with us for the rest of our lives. Or how many traditions they started that we still continue. In fact, I'm not even sure what started their yearly beach trips all those years ago.

But, I will be forever grateful to my grandparents for beginning the beach vacations and to my parents for choosing to continue the trips.

Now that we are grown and my parents are grandparents, I get to take photos of my whole family each year.

Even with the humidity, the sand, the wind, and the bugs, it just seems fitting to document our family here.